Where have we seen Cladwell before?
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in Cladwell's Roots Published: Wednesday, 07 March 07 - 06:10 PM (GMT) |
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Caldwell B. Cladwell and his employees look awfully familiar. Where have we seen them before?
Guys and Dolls (1950) (hand motions)
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1961)
Perhaps the closest influence: Mister Mister in The Cradle Will Rock
Cradle Will Rock is a Depression-era, pro-union musical written by Marc Blitzstein as part of the Federal Theatre Project, a failed attempt by Roosevelt’s Works Progress Administration to create a state-subsidized national American theatre.
Originally directed by Orson Welles and produced by John Houseman, Cradle was set to open at the Maxine Elliot Theatre on June 16, 1937. Concerns about Communist propaganda in the musical caused the theatre to cancel the performance at the last minute, blockading the theatre with National Guard soldiers. Welles, determined to continue the show, led actors and ticket-holders to the Venice Theatre, 20 blocks away, where the cast began by singing their parts from the audience.
The musical is opera-like; it is almost completely sung-through. The cast features a corrupt businessman, a noble and idealistic union organizer, a hopeful prostitute, immigrant families and various “poor of New York.” One Broadway anthology calls Cradle Will Rock “little more than an animated left-wing political cartoon.” Others have called Cradle a Brechtian proletarian allegory, with simple, shallow, functional characters.
Set in Steeltown, USA, the story follows union organizer Larry Foreman as he leads the workers to victory over the pervasive monopolies of Mr. Mister. (It was made into a movie by Tim Robbins in 1999, as Pam mentioned.)
Plot summary courtesy of American Century Theatre:
Moll, a prostitute, is arrested when a vice-squad detective tries to extort her for sexual favors. In court, she witnesses the arraignment of “The Liberty Committee,” distinguished citizens who have been mistakenly arrested by a cop who mistook them for union organizers. The Steelworkers Union is scheduled to rally that night, and the Liberty Committee had appeared to oppose them.
Harry Druggist, once a thriving drug store owner but now a drunken vagrant, tells Moll the story of the corruption of the Liberty Committee: how the minister, newspaper editor, doctor, college president, professors and artists all sold out their principles for cash and power, both offered by Steeltown’s real boss, Mister Mister. He also tells how he himself was corrupted, leading to the death of his son and his current dereliction. Mister Mister, meanwhile, has everything his own way, with only the slight inconveniences posed by a vapid wife, a sex-obsessed daughter, and a doltish son.
Finally the union organizer, Larry Foreman, is brought into court. He gives hope to the bitter prostitute and the cynical druggist, and when Mister Mister himself offers to buy Foreman’s loyalties, he refuses. Suddenly, the sounds outside bring exciting news: the other unions have joined the Steelworkers. The Liberty Committee leaves Mister Mister alone; a coward, he realizes that he is finished.
Reference: Green, Stanley. Broadway Musicals, Show by Show. 5th ed. Revised and updated by Kay Green. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard, 1996.
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